We were reminded by our friend, Chris that winterizing while on the road may be of interest to fellow RVers. In this post we share with you 10 simple steps for winterizing in a hurry. This method worked for us last winter while traveling in and out of the arctic vortex with no ill effects.
We were faced with a situation last winter that forced us to winterize on the side of the road as we were heading right into extreme cold weather with no way around it. Winterizing was done in 2 stages since we didn’t know if we’ll be able to dump our fresh and hot water tanks at our next destination. We had to dump both by the side of the road.
When we arrived at the campground we poured antifreeze into the system and made sure it went through. It was getting extremely cold and it just got colder and colder after that.
10 steps to winterizing Your campervan water systems in a hurry:
- pay close attention to the weather: the weather forcast in your current location is important; knowing what the weather will be like on your route, and at your destination, is crucial.
- antifreeze: carry with you a couple of jugs of good antifreeze. Scrambling at the last moment to find suitable antifreeze may make a difference between intact pipes and busted ones.
- know when to empty your tanks: if you think you’ll be heading into cold weather make sure that your black/grey tanks are empty. Keep a minimal amount of fresh water in your fresh water tank tank if you need to, but make sure that you have a place to dump it. We had to dump our fresh water on the side of the road during our last trip. We always carry fresh drinking water with us.
- drain hot water tank: make sure that the water heater is turned off. Bypass the hot water tank:
Bypass mode
Normal operating mode
remove the anode rod and let the water drain out.
Remove Anode Rod
Drain Water
It may help to have the van parked at an angle. A bit of water may remain at the bottom of the tank, but it will have somewhere to expand if it freezes, so nothing to worry about.
- drain fresh water tank: open valve under driver side of vehicle (outside under sink area). Make sure that the valve (under the sink inside the van) is in line with the pipe(open).
Valve Open
- pour/pump antifreeze: close the valves under the sink (inside), and under the van (outside) both levers need to be across the pipe; the same position as you would have it when connected to city water (closed).
Valve Closed
Connect your tube to the city fresh water intake, you will need this attachment for your hose to pour in antifreeze, and with your pump on, run your taps one by one until the pink stuff comes out.
- flush: flush the toilet until the pink stuff comes out.
- macerator: run your macerator for a couple of seconds to let some antifreeze onto it.
- turn off the pump: turn your pump off and then open and close one of the taps to release pressure. You don’t want the pipes to remain under pressure during freezing temperatures.
- valve: open the valve under the van until pink stuff drips down and then close it again. This will help in reduce pressure on the pipes.
Final thoughts
Note that you can still use your toilet after winterizing. Make sure to turn off your pump and flush with a bit of antifreeze after using. Use it sparingly and do not empty it while frozen if you have a macerator to prevent damage.
We followed these steps to winterize the water system in our Carado Banff campervan. There may be variations if you have a different rig with different features. Always use common sense!
Following these steps worked for us in -30c 
and for the rest of the winter, but If you are looking for a full water system winterizing method check out these videos.
Winter is so much fun!
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